Finalists revealed in Butcher’s Shop of the Year

The first round of judging is complete, and the country’s leading butchery businesses are now facing off in preparation to be revealed as the best in their field in the 2013 Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards.

With record numbers of entries, the judging to pick out the shortlist of finalists across all the categories was intense, and judges will now be hitting the road to make the final decisions on the winners.

Ed Bedington, editor of Meat Trades Journal, which organises the awards, said: “This year’s judging has proved to be a real challenge, with the standard of entries extremely high. A lot of new businesses were coming into the awards and there are some amazing shops out there across the UK.

“It was also positive to see the number of new shops that have been opening across the country and entering our new category of New Butchery Business of the Year – that’s a very encouraging sign for the entire trade that people are willing to invest and come into the market.”

The Butcher’s Shop of the Year awards recognise excellence across the high street butchery sector. The competition covers butchers’ shops up and down the country, with the winner in each region going head-to-head to pick out the best shop in the UK. On top of this, there are also national awards for Farm Shop of the Year, Halal Butcher’s Shop of the Year, Butcher’s Plus, looking at larger operations, and the ever-popular Young Butcher of the Year.

This year saw the introduction of a new category for New Business of the Year, aimed at recognising a newly established butcher’s shop, set up within the past two years.